Frog-box.



No. 882,184. PATENTED MAR. 17, 1908. F. S. WILLARD & R. E. DONALDSON.

FROG B OX.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13. 1901.

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UNITED PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK S. WILLARD AND ROBERT E. DONALDSON, OF eureimo, ILLINOIS.

FROG-BOX.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, FREDERICK S. WIL- LARD and ROBERT E. DONALDSON, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in FrogBoxes, of which the following is a specification.

The object of our invention is to provide, as a desirable substitute for the basket ordinarily used for carrying live frogs to be used as bait, a folding box to form part of the accouterment for those who enjoy fishing as a sport. To this end we have devised the construction of collapsible and expansible, or folding box illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

Referring to the drawing, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the folding frog-box Fig. 2, a section taken at the line 2 on Fig. 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 3, a section taken at the line 3 on Fig. 1. and viewed in the direction of the arrow, and Fig. 4, a sectional View showing the manner of folding, one upon the other against the inner side of the top of the box, the box-sides hingedly suspended from the top.

The box is preferably formed of sheet metal in the rectangular shape illustrated. Its flat top 5, which is provided about the edges with depending end and side flanges, is shown to be provided with a pivotal handle 6 and contains an opening or hand-hole 7 extending from an end of the top to the handle and closed by a cover 8 slidingly confined between guides 9, 9 and carrying on its outer end a pivotal handle 10. To the end-flanges on the permanent top are hinged at their upper edges the box-ends 1 1, 1 1, each composed of two similar sections hinged together at their meeting edges to fold inwardly on their hinges, as indicated by the arc-shaped dotted arrows in Fig. 3 and the ends 11 are hinged to the lower edges of and carry the box-bottom 12, which is provided along its side-edges with upwardly-extending flanges 13, the ends of which lap about the box-ends for a short distance, as shown. To the depending sideflanges of the top 5 are respectively hinged at their up er ends, to swing or fold inwardly, the box-s1 e 14, carrying a pivotal handle 15 and shown to be imperforate, and the boxside 16 also provided with a handle 15 and its interior is rendered visible, as by means of an open-work center 17. The box-ventilating Side 16 is hinged lower down on the flange Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 13. 1907.

Patented March 17, 1908.

Serial No. 101,923.

from which it is suspended than is the side 14 from its carrying-flange to enable the two sides to fold one over the other against the inner face of the cover, as represented in Fig. 4'. The box-sides thus depend hingedly from the cover when the box is unfolded and abut against the inner sides of the baseflanges 13, and are caught and releasably retained, in that condition, by spring-catches 18, 18 in the paths of their lower edges on the inner face of the bottom 12 near its lateral edges.

The box, when out of use, may be readily folded into a Hat and compact condition from that of being expanded into box-form, by depressing the catches to free the sides at their lower edges, when these sides may be turned on their hinges and folded one over the other against the top, as shown in Fig. 4. Thus folding the sides Withdraws them from bracing the box-strueture to maintain the sectional box-ends distended, and enables them to be collapsed by folding inwardly the sections on their upper and lower hinges and upon each other at their connecting hinges. In the folded condition thus described, the box is flat and compacted to a thickness so narrow as to cause it to take up but little space, and adapt it to be introduced into an ordinary tackle-box. The structure may be readily, quickly, and in a sense automatically reduced from its folded condition into boxform, to prepare the box for receiving live frogs, by holding it at the handle 6 in one hand while throwing the device with a jerk, which will unfold and distend the hinged members, straightening out the sectional ends and dropping the sides to brace the distended ends and in thus forcibly dropping the sides their free lower edges snap over the catches 18, which lock them.

The advantages afforded by our device over the ordinary frog-basket referred to will be readily apparent to those who have used the latter, the cost of which, though considerable, is not suflicient to induce its use a second time, even if it were desirable to use it again, so that it is customarily discarded after a single use; and being covered with a thin cloth, no visual inspection can be made for selecting from the frogs in it, but the selection has to be made by feeling with the hand thrust under the cloth cover, raised at one end for the purpose, with the result that the selection takes time, having to be made by rummaging, and the further i very objectionable result that the hand is liable to be soiled and contaminated with a vile odor by encountering one or more dead frogs'in slimy condition in the basket. With our box, however, the frogs are not only provided with air through the open-work side, but they may be conveniently inspected through it to enable selection to be made by visual location in the box, and when a frog has been thus selected the user, on sliding back the lid 8 to uncover the opening 7 (through which the supply of live frogs is introduced into the box), may insert his hand and direct it to and grasp the selected frog, which remains under view to guide the hand, thereby also greatly facilitating and expediting the selection besides avoiding the con taminating consequence referred to. Moreover, the construction enables convenient selection of dead frogs and their withdrawal from the box through the opening 7, without requiring the hand to be brought into contact with them. v

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. A folding ventilated frog-box compris ing a top having an opening provided with a movable cover, a bottom, end-bracing sides hingedly suspended at their upper ends from the top and separate at their lower ends from the bottom, one of said sides being penetrable to light to render visible the interior of the box, collapsible ends permanently connecting the top and bottom, and means for releasably locking together the bottom and the lower ends of the sides to fasten the box in its expanded condition.

2. A folding frog-box comprising a top having an opening provided with a movable cover, a bottom, sides hingedly suspended from the top and separate at their lower ends from the bottom, one of said sides having openings, collapsible ends connecting the top and bottom, and automatic locking means operating to lock together the free ends of said sides and the bottom to fasten the box in its expanded condition. 7

8. A folding frog-box comprising a flanged top having a hand-hole provided with a movable cover, end-bracing sides hingedly suspended from flanges of the top to adapt said sides to fold one over the other upon the under side of said top, and one of said sides having an open-work center, a bottom carrying spring-catches normally projecting into the paths of the free ends of the sides, and ends each formed of a section hinged to the top and a section hinged to the bottom, said sections of each end being hinged together at their meeting-edges to adapt the ends to fold inwardly.

FREDERICK S. WILLARD. ROBERT E. DONALDSON. In presence of A. M. THORIEN, R. A. SGHAEFER. 

